rising_star

My experience has been that geography departments are really open to people with different backgrounds. A count in my own dept today found that we have 6 faculty with PhDs in something other than geography. I have an undergrad degree in literature and didn't have too much of a problem getting into a geography MA and subsequently a geography PhD program. One thing that geography does differently than many other disciplines is to accept students into the MA first and the PhD later. Very few programs directly admit students with only a BA to the PhD program.

I've played a bit with a demo iPad and while it's fast and exciting, I prefer my netbook. I can actually take notes, write papers, and surf the web with it, for just 1 lb more.

Is that for tuition or does it include living costs as well? You know, this is a good point. I think you might find a PhD has more options than you think but, if you're having doubts then you probably should go with the master's for now. Yale's program is very well-regarded.

Christopher Moore is an excellent choice. I haven't finished Lamb yet, but thoroughly enjoyed Fluke and Practical Demonkeeping. Am I the only Terry Pratchett fan?

Valencia orange

Seriously? You're willing to go $90K in debt to get a MA from Yale?

Could you save the money in a US savings account?

The funds either come from the department or equally from each lab you rotate through. My guess is the former. Ask if you really want to know but I don't see why it matters.

No honorable mention list this month?

That situation sounds like it sucks. What I would do is not hide my accomplishments from him. Find out if he really wants to be in grad school and, if not, encourage him to pursue what it is he wants. It sounds to me like jealousy, bitterness, or something deeper.

My first thought is that I wouldn't go to a school where there's only one prof you want to work with. What if you don't get along with that person or the lab isn't a good fit? Scary! Disagreed. I absolutely let the weather influence my decisions. I get sick more frequently in colder weather, so I decided not to go to a school in a cold climate. Know yourself and what will make you miserable. If bad weather is on that list, avoid it if you can.

My university encourages TAs not to friend undergraduates, particularly not those who you know from classroom interactions. I am facebook friends with some undergraduates, but they are all students I tutor on the side and hang out with socially. One of them actually came to my birthday party and was like "Holy crap, this room is full of people that used to be my TAs/instructors". It was kinda funny and only sort of awkward.

Athens Transit has night and weekend routes. Go to the website and check the schedule. Also, they have GPS on the buses so you can track them online. This is handy since they often are running behind schedule.

People are going to hate me for this but, hey, it's honest. When I applied to MA programs and again to PhD programs, I decided on April 15 both times. Both times there were two schools that I was having trouble deciding between and I had already turned down my other offers (to hopefully help someone on the waitlist for either admissions or funding). While I realize that it sucks for someone on the waitlist at the schools, I needed to wait that long before I was sure of my decision. And, even after I'd decided for the PhD, I was petrified that I'd made the wrong decision and almost switched back (there were extenuating circumstances that would've allowed me to do so). So, yes, I waited until April 15 (and we're talking 7pm EDT on April 15) to make a decision on PhD programs.

I'm friends with all of my grad student colleagues on facebook. This includes people at my university, people I know from conferences, and people at the university where I did my MA. I'd friends faculty too if they requested. But, I don't friend undergraduates ever.

This is sooo true. I went on a date last night with a really smart college dropout who was not at all intimidated by the fact that I am in PhD program or where I earned my degrees or what I study. In fact, it was a total nonissue. So definitely don't be scared into thinking that once you have an advanced degree, you will somehow become undesirable/unattractive to members of the gender you're interested in.

I think the appropriate course load varies by department. I worked my a** off in undergrad (5 classes, 1000+ pages of reading per week) and while I don't have as much coursework to do in grad school, I do have just as much work. It's all about time management. I'm taking two classes, grading for two classes (total 165 students between them), writing grants, prepping for summer fieldwork, making comps lists, and doing all kinds of other things that eat up my time during the day. The key is to not fall behind, have set hours for working, and know what has to be read carefully, what can be skimmed, and what can be skipped. It's all about managing the workload. As far as the courseload, my MA program required a minimum of 9 graduate units to keep an assistantship. My current program requires 6 graduate units for TAs and RAs but at least 9 if you don't hold an assistantship. Unfortunately for you, language courses at the undergraduate level won't count towards the minimum number of hours you need for enrollment or towards the hours you need to get your degree. Which sucks for you. Is there any chance you could start learning the language this summer, either formally or informally? One of the problems with introductory language courses is that there's often nightly homework assignments you have to complete. Those are a time sink. If at all possible, you should at least learn the basics of the language so that you'll be a bit ahead in your first few weeks. Then, you can try to stay ahead the whole term. Three times I have taken 4 graduate courses (12 hours) at a time and I seriously don't recommend it. The weekly reading was a lot but even worse was having 3-4 gigantic papers due at the same time, particularly when you have other things to get done, like grant applications. Have I said grant apps enough? I spend a lot of time applying to various small grants to fund my fieldwork, which may or may not be a part of your experience. Mine is that my advisor doesn't give his students projects so you have to find your project, which takes time, then do all the background reading to be knowledgeable enough that you can ask an intelligent research question about the field, which again takes time. Then, once you have the questions, you can figure out a methodology for answering them (which you might be able to get from your coursework) and write up a plan for actually doing it. If your research involves fieldwork like mine does, you then have to start applying to different groups that might give you the money you need to go into the field. I've been really lucky at getting funding (I got everything I applied for in 2009) but that doesn't mean that it doesn't take time to alter your proposal from one set of guidelines to the next. So, keep in mind that as UnlikelyGrad has said, you don't get a PhD until you successfully defend a dissertation and that all the things I've written about above are necessary steps for doing that. Personally, I prioritize in the following way: 1) research; 2) grading/TA work, because it pays the bills; 3) coursework. No one seems to have a problem with me doing things this way.

I 100% agree with this. If there are 5 books you've been meaning to read for fun, read them before you start or wait and hope that you'll have time to read them over break. Just as an example, I have been reading the same novel since my flight back to school in January. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, and was 1/4 through when I landed in January... TAing, grading, research, grant apps, coursework, and getting prepped for summer fieldwork have taken up ALL of my time. Enjoy the freedom while you can because it will be the last true vacation you have for a long time.

Heh, we're supposed to pick? For everyday use, I carry either a backpack, a shoulder bag, or a messenger bag, depending on how much stuff I have to carry, whether I need my netbook, and the weather (ie, rain or not). If it's going to rain, I go with the backpack or messenger bag because they are waterproof. The netbook fits in all of them, but the fit depends on how much else I need to bring with me. Oh, and on Fridays, I tend to just have a large purse, since we go to happy hour afterwards. At conferences, I tend to carry a large purse. Or, sometimes, a small shoulder bag. Depends on whether or not I have to wear a coat. At any rate, my small conference notebook fits in almost any purse I have, which helps a lot. EDIT: I should point out that I primarily commute on bike, and I put the purse/shoulder bag into the front basket. With a messenger bag or backpack, I wear it while I ride.

I think this is probably one of the best comments made here in a long time. Think of it this way, Germie. You can take out the max in Stafford subsidized loans each year ($8500) and use that money to go on trips wherever you want. Your favorite band playing in Chicago? Drive 2.5 hours, go see them, spend the night in a hotel, then head back to Purdue. Love the beach? Go on some Caribbean or Hawaiian vacations! You could do tons of traveling (or pay for others to visit you) on that $8500 and still have less debt than you would if you went to U Washington. And, since that credential is so versatile, you will have your choice of where to live once you finish your degree. If you want to live in Seattle then, you totally can.

I would wait until I had it in writing.

Depends. Do you have $45K lying around that you can use to pay Georgetown's tuition?

It may be too late but, I recommend checking with other academic departments on campus to see if they print posters and, if so, how much they charge. I know my department charges $25 but others on campus charge $50 or even $75.

I say wait. You have plenty of time to get to know them.

I moved cross-country for my PhD. I drove out in my car (a 4-door compact sedan) with my aunt. The car was loaded down, though no roof carrier or anything. I even disassembled my desk (glass, cost $160 and I love it) and moved it in the car. I also mailed 6 boxes of books and 2-3 boxes of other stuff. My mom flew out to help me get settled in, and she brought two suitcases of my clothes with her. I didn't have much furniture before, and what I did have was mostly hand-me-downs from my family, so I sold my mattress, gave my dresser to my brother, and sold the smaller stuff on Craig's List (ironically, I sold a bunch of it from someone who had just moved from the city I was moving to). If you're considering getting a U-Haul/Penske/truck, remember to factor in gasoline. When I moved two years ago, gas was $4/gallon so there were surcharges from moving companies to cover gas. Plus, those big rental trucks get terrible fuel economy (my car got 32 miles per gallon on the highway on that trip). So, just keep the gas in mind if you decide to go the move-it-yourself route.